Toona Research

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Was told about this project at a meeting last week. ??

My name is Dr Shane Griffiths and I'm a fish biologist working at CSIRO Marine Research in Brisbane. I am currently conducting a pilot study of longtail tuna (also known as Northern Bluefin), mackerel tuna, frigate mackerel and Watson's leaping bonito. Surprisingly, almost no studies have been undertaken on these species in Australia. The purpose of the study is to gain an understanding of the general biology and ecology of these species, including age, growth, reproduction, stock structure, diet and movements. Unfortunately, we need to sacrifice about 50-100 fish from each species to get this information. This study will hopefully lead to a large study to be undertaken in Northern Australia, namely the Gulf of Carpentaria. Our interest in these species IS NOT for commercial fisheries benefit. We have a large gap in our data on pelagic fishes and need this data to feed into ecosystem models. These model may then predict the impacts of current fishing practices on all components of the ecosystem. We are primarily interested in ensuring the sustainability of all fish stocks, which in some way, shape or form are interlinked.

I have been working closely with recreational fishing groups, who have been very genernous by donating specimens of longtail tuna in the 8-15kg range. However, we desperately need more specimens before the season ends. We are particularly trying to get a number of large fish over 20kg, as they are very important for determining growth rates for the species.

I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who is willing to donate tuna specimens for our research, particularly fishers from the Sunshine Coast/Brisbane/Gold Coast region. I will personally organise to pick up or freight (for people outside SE Qld).

I can be contacted via email on shane.griffiths@csiro.au or by phone during business hours on (07)38267364.

Any assistance you can offer us will be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Shane Griffiths

[thunnus]

Shane is an awsome bloke (and a keen fisho too) and its great to see someone doing a bit or research for us the recs!!! Good on ya shane and keep up the good work.

Dave - thanks for posting that for everyone

cheers, Justin

[Wesley_Pang]

I emailed Shane about whether it had to be the whole fish or would just the frame do. Longtails are great in Sushi, Sushimi or B.B.Q.

He wrote back:

Ideally, we would like the whole fish, but failing that, the frame would be ok, and again failing that, the head would be of some value (so don’t throw heads away if your fish is sharked!).

I'd be interested in reading his research about one of my favourite fish.

I'll have to get a HUGE esky. A 20kg Northern Bluefin is a big fish.

Next time my wife questions me about fishing, I'll just answer, "I'm fishing for science".

Wes

[Jack_Lives_Here]

I know there will be many reluctant to kill fish

Like your angle there Wes.

[Scott_Matthews]

What's wrong with approaching pro fisherman for the info instead of targeting sportfisho's. Anyone who flyfishes and kills a 20kg longtail doesn't deserve to catch one in the first place.

[Quinny69]

Cause the Pros want $$$ for em maybe(and couldnt give a rats about the recource). Sounds like a good idea to me.... Id Like to know more about the habits of Tuna. Matt Quinn

[SteveCan]

What's wrong with approaching pro fisherman for the info instead of targeting sportfisho's. Anyone who flyfishes and kills a 20kg longtail doesn't deserve to catch one in the first place.

Hi Scott,

Just interested in why taking and keeping a Longtail on Fly is in some way morally wrong? I am not having a go - I would just like to know what your reasons are for taking that position. (i am not a fly fisho)

Cheers
Steve.

[Jack_Lives_Here]

For me, I couldn't do it. Not even managed to boat one yet on the wand and have a huge respect for them. I think it's the huge adrenalin rush when all that line is disappearing from the reel at a great rate of knots. A guy explained it to me this way - hook your line up to your car and get some one to take off down the road full whack. If the drag handles the initial run the reel MIGHT be OK for longies.

I'd fin clip or take tissue / blood samples in a heart beat if that would help their study.

[Scott_Matthews]

If the pros want $$$ for frames then the government should shell out the bucks, government grants seem to be available for almost any scheme these days. How many 20kg fish do you see in your travels, i know i haven't seen to many let alone have the opportunity to have a shot a them. Luckily enough this season i happened to get 2 20kg fish and the last thing on my mind was i need a big esky for the big BBQ. There is not many species around that keep people targeting them for the capture of maybe one fish per outing. If a bag limit and legal size limit both under and over is good enough for most every other species then why not tuna.

[Jack_Lives_Here]

No pennies left after the much needed infastructure items like:
Goodwill Bridge >
Lang Park upgrade > >

[thunnus]

Scotty - i reacon you are somewhat right about the taking of 20kg fish, and just like dave, i'm yet to land my first longy on fly and wouldnt be taking it no matter what size. Mind you i do believe that this research will help our fishery, and the info gained may well have an effect on the placement of bag and size limits for the species in the future, so for a few lost fish maybe its worth it? IMHO anyway.

Good luck at bribie this weekend scotty, shawn and jason. Might see you out on the water.

cheers, Justin

[team_mongo]

Scott,

As you no doubt know, not all fish can be returned, particularly the big ones . They either come up dead, are die on release. In fact I released a 16 kg specimen with wes that just sunk to the bottom!

Wes is hardly a meato and if we worked out how many $/kg of fish we kept, it would probably be in the hundreds if not thousands of $/kg . Myself and Wes target longtails almost solely, and keep the odd one for sushimi, as it is far better than the stuff bought at the fisho. And if you're going to keep tuna to have a sushimi, preparation and storage is vital, and a big esky a must.

Whilst your ideals are admirable, every fish you and I catch, injures and tires the fish, and decreases it chances of survival. (For example, how many of your fish have been sharked?) I use very heavy specific gear to improve their chances of survival and aim to land the fish in under 10 minutes.

I suppose the only sensible way forward is to study this fishery and impose size and catch limits.

Cheers
George

[Jack_Lives_Here]

Justin - will hopefully be able to say I've landed a longy after the weekend. Fishing the comp with Quinny69 out my hornet - both longtail virgins.

Weather looks good guys 10 - 15 SE / NE

[Quinny69]

IF I ever get a LT of 20(of any for that mater) I would let it go for sure,,,,,,,,But I recon that sacrificing a couple of trophy fish to find out Growth rates, blah ect is not to bad.No one in this string of posts can be called a meato but 1 thing Ive learned from my ltd. Tuna targeting is all tuna seem to die if you even look at them with a frown, .Maybe the casualtys could be used..... Good luck for a comp grand slam Scott. See yas there. Matt Quinn

[thunnus]

Gezzz Dave - how could you fish with that slob! Quinny's a good bloke and i wish the best of luck to both of you!

I'll be out somewhere on sunday - so hopefully a longy will come my way too.

cheers, Justin